The Dallas Stars will hit the ice once again as they will face off against Central Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets. The Stars will begin the series up in hostile territory, with the Jets holding home-ice advantage. The Stars will be riding high into Wednesday's game, as Dallas is coming off an emphatic win to clinch their previous series.
Stars vs Jets: Line Combinations From The Other Side
So it begins.
The Stars are coming into Wednesday's Game 1 matchup with a generous three-day break, and will aim to keep that energy after previously concluding their playoff series in playoff fashion. The Stars went into the third period of their Game 7 finale with Colorado that saw them mount a two-goal comeback, and eventually win by a score of 4-2. The Jets saw their previous series end in exciting fashion as well, as they scored a game-tying goal with three minutes left in the third period to force overtime against the St. Louis Blues. The Jets would eventually score a game-winner to draw the Stars.
Former Stars Defender Surprising His New Coach
Some people say that good help is hard to find.
The Stars come into Wednesday night's contest hoping that recent playoff success will carry over. Dallas did not fare well against their division rivals during the regular season, losing three out of the four matchups on the schedule. Through this handful of games, the Jets outscored the Stars 13-5. At the top of the agenda for the Stars will be to keep goaltender Connor Hellebuyck busy. Hellebuyck comes into the playoffs boasting the most wins during the regular season (47). Luckily for the Stars, that magic so far looks as to have not translated to the postseason, as the United States netminder has given up the most goals (26) of any goaltenders thus far in the playoffs.
Dallas Could Get Star Forward Back in Time for Game 1
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars">Dallas Stars</a> are a day away from Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will head to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets for the first two games.
Across the ice, Jake Oettinger has stood tall despite being peppered in his first seven playoff games. Oettinger has faced the most shots (224) thus far while boasting a goals against average of just 2.85. The Minnesota native was stellar in the closing minutes of the Game 7 victory against Colorado, stopping 12 of 13 shots he faced.
Stars Tasked With Solving Connor Hellebuyck In Second Round
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars">Dallas Stars </a>have made it past the formidable Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While some might say they squeaked by the Avalanche after the series went the full seven games, the road to the Stanley Cup Final will not get easier with Connor Hellebuyck and the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars/latest-news/stars-vs-jets-round-2-schedule-revealed">Winnipeg Jets</a> who are the next obstacle. The Stars will now have the difficult task of solving goaltender Connor Hellebuyck who practically owned the Stars during the regular season.
While the goaltenders will certainly be the story throughout the series, the big storyline for Dallas heading into Game 1 will be the potential return of Jason Robertson. Dallas' leading scoring has not played since leaving with an injury during the regular season finale on April 16th in Nashville. While there is no official word yet as to the certainty of the 35-goal scorer hitting the ice in Wednesday's matchup, the signs look promising as Robertson participated in practice earlier in the day.
The puck drop for Dallas and Winnipeg's Game 1 clash will hit the ice starting at 8:30pm CDT, and be viewed on ESPN.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.